Partner organisations

Belong Nottingham is a charity which supports migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to achieve their full potential. We offer free and confidential advice to anyone, to support our clients through integration into UK society and into their local communities. Originally founded as an African Refugee Community Organisation established by refugees for refugees, we are now proud to support migrants from all backgrounds and from a large number of countries as diverse as from South America to East Asia. Our main aim is to empower migrants to achieve their full potential and to be economically active and socially included. Belong Nottingham has a very good, two way relationship with the Refugee Forum.We receive referrals from them for people who need integration support, for example for clients who are being housed in hotels and who are struggling to interact socially. We refer clients to the Refugee Forum who need more specialist support than we are able to offer. That relationship is invaluable. As part of the Communities of Identity consortium, we also receive vital funding, for which we are extremely grateful and which ensures that we can carry on with the services which we offer.

We believe in community and cooperation and we have a multi-cultural staff which is reflective of the community that we work in. Our background and experience help us to understand the needs of the people that we work with and to plan our service accordingly.

We offer advice in the following areas:

• Employability: CV writing, careers advice, volunteer experience, job searches, interview techniques • Education: ESOL classes (English for Speakers of Other Languages), IT skills, integration training, social enterprise training • Youth: Support with integration, academic and social development, dealing with peer and family expectations • Health: Improving confidence in accessing health services, promoting a healthy lifestyle • Housing: Liaising between migrants and charities that help with accessing accommodation

• All our services are free of charge. Please visit our website at www.belongnottingham. co.uk or call our offices on 0115 9790015 to discuss how we can help you.

Bhatia Best Solicitors provide specialist legal advice in both public law and community care to ensure the rights are protected of those without support or accommodation to which they are entitled. We hold contracts with the Legal Aid Agency to provide these services such that advice and assistance can often be provided at no charge (subject to an assessment of means). We have a dedicated, growing, team of experienced solicitors and support staff to meet the needs of clients. The team is headed by Scott Laing, partner and solicitor with over 10 years’ experience in the field and has seen considerable growth to meet the increased demand for our services. Legal challenges are regularly instigated on an urgent basis including, where necessary, applications for interim relief in the High Court. We regularly issue proceedings against the Home Office, Local Authorities and Government Departments and over the past year have assisted hundreds of individuals in legal challenges such as inadequate support levels being provided, a lack of suitable or appropriate accommodation and challenges protecting the rights of children and unaccompanied asylum seeking minors, including those whose age is disputed, with a great deal of success. The work of NNRF is essential in ensuring we are able to effectively deal with matters and their team of caseworkers assist in corresponding with third party organisations to progress a case. NNRF are a pleasure to work with and it is through such collaborative working that wider issues have been identified benefitting asylum seekers and vulnerable individuals across the country.

Hope into Action has over 100 houses throughout the country, 10 of which are in Nottingham. We provide supported accommodation for up to 2 years, and work with individuals and families to get to a point where they can live independently, managing their tenancy, budgeting, and sometimes moving into work. Every house is opened in partnership with a church, who provide friendship and where needed, support to attend appointments, get to know the local area and find community. In Nottingham three of our 10 houses currently house refugees, one for young men and two for families. We are pleased to have taken a number of referrals from NNRF over the past few years and have a good relationship with the caseworkers, informing them when a vacancy becomes available and keeping them updated on the progress of any referrals. We really appreciate all NNRF do and are proud to partner with them.

• Across Borders • African Institute for Social Development • Asylum Support Advice Network (ASAN) • Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP) • Begin • Belong • Bhatia Best Solicitors • British Red Cross • Cameroon Support Group • Care4Calais • City Arts • Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) • Djanogly City Academy – Saturday Activity Club • Double T • Early Intervention in Psychosis Team • East African Education Centre • East Midland Homes Co-operative (EMHC) • East Midlands Strategic Migrant Partnership (EMSMP) • Emmanuel House • Enable • equipped2succeed • First Universal Enterprises Limited (FUEL) • Framework Housing Association • Futures • Groundwork • Hallam • Halliday Reeves • Hope for Justice • Hope into Action • Hope Nottingham • Host Nottingham • Housing Aid (NCC) • Housing and Immigration Group (HIG) • Humans for Rights Network • Ignite Futures (Ignite!) • Mansfield Road Baptist Church • Migrant Help • Mojatu Foundation • NHS vaccination centres • Newstart Project • NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire

Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) • Nottingham Arimathea Trust (NAT) • Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Keep Our

NHS Public • Nottingham Bikeworks • Nottingham City Council (NCC) • Nottingham City Council Community

Cohesion Team • Nottingham City of Sanctuary • Nottingham College • Nottingham Community and Voluntary

Service (NCVS) • Nottingham Contemporary • Nottingham Education Sanctuary Team (NEST) • Nottingham Health and Education Support (NHES) befrienders • Nottingham Homelessness Voluntary Sector

Forum • Nottingham Law Centre • Nottingham Night Stop • Nottingham Playhouse • Nottingham Probation Service • Nottingham Recovery Network • Nottingham Refugee Week • Nottingham Trent University Enterprise • Nottingham Trent University • Nottingham University Hospitals Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department • Nottingham University Hospitals Specialist

Midwifery Team • Nottinghamshire Child and Adolescent

Mental Health Services (CAMHS) • Nottingham Community Foundation • Nottinghamshire County Council • Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club • Notts County Foundation • Office of the Immigration Services

Commissioner (OISC) • Patients Not Passports • Public Health Nottingham City • Refugee Action • Refugee Roots • Senior Support Group • SERCO • SFiCE Foundation • Sharewear Nottingham • St Ann’s Advice Centre • St. Ann’s Advice Centre Money Sorted Team • St. Nicholas Church (St. Nic’s) • Street Outreach Team • Sustrans • The Arches • The Furniture Project Nottinghamshire • The Salvation Army Nottingham • Trent Vineyard Church • University of Nottingham • Vanclaron CiC • Language Justice • YMCA Greater Nottingham